Analysis of the Role of Social Media in B2B Marketing for Startups
Fomicheva, Yekaterina (2015)
Fomicheva, Yekaterina
Oulun ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201502112102
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201502112102
Tiivistelmä
Social media is a new, yet very prominent concept in present marketing communication. It has been growing steadily and became popular among marketers both in business-to-customer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B). However, there has been more research done on how to apply and utilize social media in the B2C scenario and there are fewer explanations about B2B cases. Therefore, it was interesting to do research and analysis on how B2B companies operate, what are the factors influencing social media utilization and get insights about the use of different platforms and their role in the overall marketing process.
There are different strategies for different social media platforms to use them to their fullest potential. The bottom line for any company is to get a profit for their marketing efforts. As a consequence, companies must not only use social media but also analyze and make adjustments accordingly. Metrics and analytics are the tools that come in handy while working on effectiveness and getting results from marketing activities. On the other hand the success of the implementation will also depend on type and size of the company, and small companies are believed to have better chances due to their innovativeness and proactive approaches.
The subject of a present paper was observed and analyzed based on two B2B startups – MariaDB Corporation and Usabilla – operating in information technology, providing complex products and supporting services. Both companies actively use social media and are present in Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube. The analysis was done based on these channels and the activities executed. Generally, the companies engaged their fans and followers with visual content, such as pictures and videos, as well as produced own content, for example webinars, events and blog posts.
Conclusions made suggest that social media marketing in B2B cases is an additional and supporting tool as the main platform is the company’s website. It is essential to be present in social media as it helps search engine optimization. Importantly, the content shared through social media must be relevant and interesting. Therefore, the efforts made via social media are substantially directed to attract potential customers to visit the website.
There are different strategies for different social media platforms to use them to their fullest potential. The bottom line for any company is to get a profit for their marketing efforts. As a consequence, companies must not only use social media but also analyze and make adjustments accordingly. Metrics and analytics are the tools that come in handy while working on effectiveness and getting results from marketing activities. On the other hand the success of the implementation will also depend on type and size of the company, and small companies are believed to have better chances due to their innovativeness and proactive approaches.
The subject of a present paper was observed and analyzed based on two B2B startups – MariaDB Corporation and Usabilla – operating in information technology, providing complex products and supporting services. Both companies actively use social media and are present in Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube. The analysis was done based on these channels and the activities executed. Generally, the companies engaged their fans and followers with visual content, such as pictures and videos, as well as produced own content, for example webinars, events and blog posts.
Conclusions made suggest that social media marketing in B2B cases is an additional and supporting tool as the main platform is the company’s website. It is essential to be present in social media as it helps search engine optimization. Importantly, the content shared through social media must be relevant and interesting. Therefore, the efforts made via social media are substantially directed to attract potential customers to visit the website.